Tom Hiddleston to star in 'The Essex Serpent'

The award-winning actor, best known for playing Loki in various Marvel films, will play the role of Will Ransome in the AppleTV+ series adaptation of Sarah Perry's 2016 novel.

The series follows newly widowed Cora, played by Danes who, having being released from an abusive marriage, relocates from Victorian London to the small village of Aldwinter in Essex, intrigued by a local superstition that a mythical creature known as the Essex Serpent has returned to the area.

Drama - Claire Danes is starring in the series adaptation

Production started in January and the series will feature the picturesque Alresford Creek as a replacement for the fictional village of Aldwinter.

It is understood the village has been chosen for some of the filming as it mirrors the countryside described in the novel.

The book depicts Cora as a keen amateur naturalist with no patience for religion or superstition, who is immediately enthralled and convinced that what the local people think is a magical beast may be a previously undiscovered species.

Will is the trusted leader of the small rural community in the series, which will be directed by The Selfish Giant filmmaker Clio Barnard.

A spokesman for the production said: "He is also deeply suspicious of the rumours, but he thinks they are founded on moral panic, a flight from real faith.

"As he tries to calm his parishioners, he and Cora strike up an intense relationship, and eventually change each other’s lives."

Keira Knightly was due to star in the period drama, but she pulled out of the production due to “family reasons” over the increase in Covid-19 cases in the UK, and Golden Globe winner Danes is her replacement.

The series has been adapted from Perry’s novel by Anna Symon and will be produced by Oscar-winning production company See-Saw Films.

See-Saw Films has been contacted for comment.